The first series of Space: 1999 used a 'teaser' introduction, sometimes called a 'hook' or ' cold open'. The second series used simpler action-oriented plots. Several episodes of the first series hinted that the Moon's journey was influenced (and perhaps initiated) by a 'mysterious unknown force', which was guiding the Alphans toward an ultimate destiny. During their interstellar journey, the Alphans encounter an array of alien civilisations, dystopian societies, and mind-bending phenomena previously unseen by humanity. Not long after leaving Earth's Solar System, the wandering Moon passes through a black hole and later through a couple of 'space warps' which push it even further out into the universe.

The runaway Moon, in effect, becomes the 'spacecraft' on which the protagonists travel, searching for a new home. The force of the blast propels the Moon like an enormous booster rocket, hurling it out of Earth orbit and into deep space at colossal speed, thus stranding the 311 personnel stationed on Alpha. Humanity had been storing its nuclear waste in vast disposal sites on the far side of the Moon, but when an unknown form of 'magnetic radiation' is detected, the accumulated waste reaches critical mass and causes a massive thermonuclear explosion on 13 September 1999. The premise of Space: 1999 centres on the plight of the inhabitants of Moonbase Alpha, a scientific research centre on the Moon. Production of the first series was from November 1973 to February 1975 production of the second series was from January 1976 to December 1976. Two series of the programme were produced, each comprising 24 episodes. Main article: List of Space: 1999 episodes

Moon base alpha series book 2